Illinois State Board of Education, Gender Equity Advisory Committee met Sept. 22.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
I. Welcome & Roll Call
Present:
Anna Koeppel, Illinois Department of Labor
Sergio Hernandez, Illinois State Board of Education
Dr. Johnnie Thomas, Rich Township School District 227
Michael Phelon, The Outlet Illinois (joined after roll call)
Dr. Leslie Ward, Illinois State Board of Education
Deanie Brown, American Association of University Women-IL Inc.
Absent:
Jami Hodge, Williamson County CTE System
Sandra Westlund-Deenihan, Quality Float Works Inc.
II. Approval of the September 8, 2023, Minutes (roll call vote)
Motion made by Mr. Hernandez to accept the minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Koeppel. No requests for changes were raised. The minutes were voted for acceptance as presented unanimously by the members.
III. New member status update
The identification of a new member remains in progress. Also, GEAC members are able to submit recommendations to ISBE.
IV. Data review
a. Mr. Osborne reviewed the delivery schedule with the members and indicated that review of any needed and available data would be targeted for GEAC review by September 22, 2023, and October 6, 2023, with the goal of submitting the recommendations report by November 17, 2023.
b. Heather Lueken, an ISBE Career and Technical Education (CTE) subject matter expert, , was introduced. She provided an overview of the Career and College Pathway Endorsements program.
i. See College and Career Pathway Endorsements webpage.
ii. Legislation will not require school districts to state whether they will offer endorsements by July 1, 2025, or opt out; however, there are school districts that have commenced work to prepare and apply for endorsements. There are additional requirements for schools that opt to participate and have at least 350 students in their Grade 9-12 building:
1. By 2027, one endorsement of a student in the graduating class for that year must be submitted.
2. By 2029, two endorsements of students in the graduating class for that year must be submitted.
3. By 2031, three endorsements of students in the graduating class for that year must be submitted.
4. Thus, the needed coursework would need to be in place before 2027 for those that opt in.
iii. Communication of the program to high schools is addressed in different ways:
1. Ms. Lueken has office hours weekly to allow districts to raise questions or acquire information.
2. A new platform that will allow plan creation is being built in the ISBE Web Application Security (IWAS) tool.
3. Routine contact with districts also is performed.
c. Statewide 2023 school year data for College and Career Pathway Endorsements was shared. The data also displayed gender, seven endorsement area details earned by students, and participation levels.
d. Statewide 2023 school year maps were displayed to highlight locations where districts have planned to issue endorsements and those that have issued endorsements.
e. The CTE Equity Survey summary data was reviewed. Summary details included race, gender, special education or intervention, high school counselor college or career opportunity discussion, local community college visits to high schools, dual credit taken in high school, and barriers for taking dual credit courses in high school. The survey was conducted as a one-time effort to allow students an opportunity to be heard. It was part of a separate equity effort and was conducted by the students.
f. Links will be supplied for CTE budget comparisons by state. Mr. Osborne is continuing to determine if additional data can be shared. It was noted that the Perkins data is based on census data. It also was noted that Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky have made significant investments.
g. Links will be supplied for work and labor data.
h. ISBE continues its work to determine if data is available for the other requests raised during the prior GEAC meeting.
i. College and career indicators data should be ready by the October 6, 2023, GEAC meeting.
ii. Additional CTE budget comparisons by state.
iii. Disciplinary data.
iv. CTE Perkins data
i. Items discussed for potential inclusion as recommendations in the committee’s eventual report:
i. Use the CTE Equity Survey’s college visit data to improve district outcomes and leverage the data in the survey to engage districts.
ii. Conduct the CTE Equity Survey annually over a period of three to five years to implement trending and progress monitoring.
V. Old Business
a. Mandated trainings reminders
i. Members were asked to review the training materials and provide a copy of the training certificates to both David Osborne (dosborne@isbe.net) and Carmelo Reyes (creyes@isbe.net).
ii. 2023 Ethics Training Program for State Employees and State Appointees (due September 24, 2023).
iii. Open Meetings Act (due September 24, 2023).
1. Mr. Osborne will provide additional information on how to access this training.
iv. 2023 Harassment & Discrimination Prevention Training (due November 23, 2023).
VI. New Business
Mr. Hernandez advised of the upcoming first-ever Statewide Equity Symposium from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on October 4, 2023. The gathering will be held virtually. Registration is required. GEAC members are encouraged to share this information, as desired. Registration link for the symposium: https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Statewide-Equity Symposium.aspx
The symposium will feature a key note speaker and will focus on how to:
• Gain insights into utilizing the Equity Journey Continuum to close gaps.
• Identify opportunity gaps in your own district.
• Obtain strategies for overcoming barriers to effective equity work.
• Forge connections and exchange best practices with peers across the state.
• Embark on an empowering mission to enact systems-level change.
VII. Public Comment
No discussion points were raised.
VIII. Adjournment
Motion made by Dr. Ward to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hernandez. Adjournment was voted for acceptance by the members.
https://www.isbe.net/Documents_GEAC/092223-Minutes.pdf
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